1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle mounted electrical outlet box incorporating a switch that detects the presence of plugged in terminal blades.
2. Description of the Background Information
Automotive vehicles have recently being equipped with onboard electrical outlet boxes that allow the use of electrical appliances in the vehicle. These vehicle mounted electrical outlet boxes are able to detect the presence of plug in terminal blades that have been inserted to the outlet. Japanese Kokai (laid open) Patent No. 2000-301991, and particularly paragraphs 0016–0022,0030 and 0031; and FIGS. 1–5, show a conventional automotive electrical outlet box.
Conventional vehicle-mounted electrical outlet boxes of the type noted above require that a plug blade detecting switch be mounted external to the outlet box, thus increasing the size of the outlet box and detracting from its external appearance. Further, the detecting switch does not operate with complete reliability as it may activate the blade detection switch to an “on” state even though the blades may not have been inserted into the outlet. Also, the detecting switch may operate erroneously as a result of vibration or the plug being inserted at an inclined orientation.